EARTH (1930)

A.K.A.: Zemlya

Country: U.S.S.R.

Genre(s): Drama / Propaganda

Director: Aleksandr Dovzhenko

Cast: Semen Svashenko / Stepan Shkurat / Yulia Solntseva

Plot

The arrival of a tractor in a close-knit farming community promises prosperity for the peasants, prompting retaliation from the land owners.

What I Liked

Considered one of the earliest classics in the Soviet style, “Earth” does have the same bold symbolism present in a lot of communist propaganda.  Even the composition of the figures in the frame evokes memories of Soviet flags, posters, and other media.  I suppose one shouldn’t praise propaganda.  However, there’s no denying the power of certain images and Aleksandr Dovzhenko’s “Earth” finds much of its strength in presenting the strength and dignity in what others might find common or boring.  Most noticeable are the farmers themselves, dressed in the dingy, plain clothes of their profession, but imbued by the filmmakers with nobility obviously lacking in the capitalist landowners.  The same nobility is present in the livestock as well; even cows are presented as possessing a certain pastoral pride.

Dovzhenko uses a broad palette of creative choices and technical approaches to convey emotions and messages inside a deceptively simple story.  Initially, the changes in style might make the film feel stylistically uneven, but the different cinematic and editing techniques were blended together in a way that was both intentional and influential.  From long close-ups of the burdened faces of the farmers, to swift-cutting montages displaying the manufacture of bread following the arrival of modern technology, he and cinematographer Danylo Demutsky established much about the language of future filmmaking in the U.S.S.R. and elsewhere.

What I Didn’t Like

Taking place in what is modern day Ukraine, the film’s plot and message were steeped in the politics of its day, as Joseph Stalin was throwing governmental and military support behind communal farming in the region, ousting the private landowners who had controlled the farms for generations, even after the 1917 Russian Revolution.  On the surface, Dovzhenko’s message seems to be in line with Stalin’s.  He shows the communists as hard-working and sincere while the capitalists are lazy and deceitful.  However, by the film’s conclusion, there is the very veiled hint of subversive criticism present in the actions of the farmers.  The film was funded by the Soviet government, who intended it to be propaganda for their cause.  Dovzhenko presented his completed film to them as such, but even the government felt uneasy about what they saw.  Today, the mixed messages feel even more vague and, thanks to nearly a century of time in between then and now, also trivial.

Then again, as a 1930 film about Russian intervention in Ukrainian politics, maybe the film is more poignant today than I give it credit for.

A silent film with few title cards to tell us what’s being said, and one that uses a great deal of shots of livestock and crops, a great deal of “Earth” seemed incomprehensible and interminably long.  Yes, the images can still evoke some compelling emotions, but the basic plot, outdated political background, and unconventional execution made the film a chore to watch for this modern viewer.  I recommend it only for those avidly interested in Soviet history or film history.

Most Memorable Scene

The arrival of a tractor, likely the first piece of modern machinery many of these people have laid eyes on, is given a prominent place in the film’s story and overall length.  The ecstatic faces of the farmers, their families, and even their livestock are shown repeatedly in ever quickening succession as the tractor slowly makes its way down a dirt road to greet them, effectively passing along the sense of suspense to the viewer.  It is one of the few sequences that managed to keep this modern viewer’s attention from start to finish and is immediately followed by one of the film’s most iconic moments, when a group of the men symbolically urinate into the tractor’s radiator before setting it to work in their fields.

My Rating: 2 out of 5